Mumbai: Airline Air India today unveiled a library of content for its new, inflight entertainment (IFE) system that will offer an immersive entertainment experience to travellers on its long-haul flights.
The full suite of the new IFE content features over 2,200 hours of entertainment content across formats and genres, including 1000 hours of movies, 600 hours of TV, and 600 hours of audio. The new IFE experience will be available on Air India’s A350, newly inducted B777-200LR, and on incoming new widebody aircraft.
Air India’s legacy widebody fleet, which is scheduled to undergo complete refurbishment of all interiors starting second half of 2024 in a $400 million retrofit programme, will subsequently feature the new IFE system and expanded content offering.
Air India CEO, MD Campbell Wilson said, “As Air India takes flight into a new era with the arrival of our A350 aircraft, so does our guests’ entertainment experience. This complete overhaul in our inflight entertainment offering mirrors the dynamic transformation underway at Air India. We’re redefining what it means to fly with us, and this world-class IFE system and carefully curated content are a cornerstone of that commitment.”
Content on offer includes Bollywood blockbusters, Hollywood premieres, music icons, documentaries and the new Air India Radio. From classics like Sholay and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to contemporary Indian cinema like Kantara and Drishyam 2, Air India guests will be able to choose from over 250 Indian movies spanning decades and genres. The new content catalogue offers regional cinema with 76 Indian regional movies in eight languages, in addition to a host of popular and engaging web series and digital content.
Hollywood blockbusters: The Hollywood collection will cater to all tastes, offering close to 200 Hollywood movies, including Bafta and Oscars-winning titles, along with latest nominees such as Barbie and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Guests will also be able to binge-watch entire franchises like Harry Potter, Spider Man, and Despicable Me.
International favourites: Air India’s global cinematic repertoire spans 14 languages, including French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Danish, Icelandic, and Dutch, among others, featuring critically acclaimed films from around the world.
TV and digital content: Air India’s in-flight library boasts a staggering 900+ episodes of Western, Indian and International TV shows and digital content, spanning an array of genres and categories. Guests will be able to enjoy content from ‘behind-the-wall’ as Air India’s new IFE will feature a selection from the biggest streaming and OTT platforms, including Paramount, HBO, Prime, Sony Liv, Hulu, etc. There are over 40 full series for the ultimate onboard binge, including titles such as the award-winning Succession, The Last of Us, Yellowstone, Reacher, and great British dramas such as Sherlock, The Night Manager, and Dr. Who.
Introducing Air India Radio: The exclusively programmed Air India Radio has podcasts, including Cup O’tales (an Air India special edition series on the history of cricket World Cups), a music collection of 800 choices from every genre, and over 60 curated playlists. The music collection features albums from Pop, Rock, Dance, Jazz, Classical, Bollywood, Ghazals, Hindustani and Carnatic Classical, Indipop, Indian Regional, and more.
Kids Zone: Young flyers will enjoy over 55 hours of curated audio and video content, divided into three dedicated sections: Pre-School, Kids, and Teens. Featuring in these sections are favourites such as CoComelon, Blippi, Oddbods, Baby Shark, Mickey Mouse, Karadi Tales, and the complete Pretty Little Liars series.
3D moving map experience: Air India will debut Arc. This is a new, immersive inflight map experience from Panasonic Avionics Corporation, aboard its A350 fleet. Arc’s Explore mode is a fully interactive experience built from the ground up that lets passengers explore the world’s geography, read curated city guides, and zoom in to street map views of select cities. Arc provides real time flight data and world clock time zones, among other features.
Full HD experience on touchscreens: The state-of-the-art viewing experience aboard Air India’s A350 aircraft offers a flexible and modular architecture, elegant design, and cabin-wide full-HD 1080p monitors. Business class guests will enjoy a large 21-inch HD touchscreen, while Premium Economy and Economy guests will enjoy 13.3-inch and 12-inch HD touchscreens, respectively. The IFE features capacitive touchscreens and handsets, USB and AC power, and personalised user interfaces.
New headsets in all cabins: Aboard the A350, Air India’s Business and Premium Economy guests will be provided lightweight and comfortable-to-wear active noise cancelling headsets with superior sound quality for an immersive entertainment experience during flight. Guests in Economy will be provided reusable earphones that come in vibrant red body, aubergine silicone tips, packaged in eco-friendly pouches.
Air India has begun the rollout of its new global brand identity across guest touchpoints, including new consumer-facing website and mobile app, and a new collection of uniforms for cabin and cockpit crew designed by Indian celebrity couturier, Manish Malhotra. In December, Air India took delivery of its first of 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with five more scheduled for deliveries through March 2024.
